Walt Disney World ~ Four Parks in One Day

All four Disney parks in one day? Yes! That is exactly what I said! While I was daydreaming about our Mommy and Me Disney trip, and all the things I wanted to do while we were at our happy place….I decided we’d attempt all four Disney parks in one day. “We” being my 7 year old and myself. For a fleeting moment, I thought I was crazy. Okay, maybe for more than a moment. But as soon as the idea came into my head, I obsessed over our plans and how I could make it happen. We did it! And today, I am going to share with you how we visited all for Walt Disney World parks in one day….and we didn’t even use Extra Magic Hours!

First, we made sure that we had the park hopper option on our park tickets. I know, just call me Captain Obvious. But, one of the most important parts to having a great Disney trip is knowing what type of tickets you have and how to use them to maximize your time!

I took into consideration where we were staying ~ Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort ~ and the proximity of the parks to that resort. Since this resort is closest to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot, I decided that those would be the first two we visited. I wanted to cut down on as much transportation time as possible. We visited the parks in the following order: Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Magic Kingdom.

Next, I wanted to stick with a “theme”, like a must do list at each park. So, we found a character we had never seen before, take a photo in front of the park icon, and we enjoyed one attraction we had never done before. Keep in mind, we’ve been to Disney 7 times! But, we were still able to find “new to us” characters and attractions!

I allowed two hours at each park, and then one hour to travel to the next one. I worked in a sit down meal at Epcot, so we could rest and recharge before hitting the last two parks. Magic Kingdom, although it is our favorite, was last on the stop for a few reasons. One, we were already spending a considerable amount of time there on this trip, so if we didn’t make it, we didn’t make it. Two, my daughter LOVES Epcot. So if we ended up getting sidetracked and spent quite a bit of time there, then that was the way it was going to be, and we could just hop to Animal Kingdom toward the end of the day before heading back to the resort. So even though I had a bit of a “schedule”, my expectations weren’t over the top. Here is what we accomplished:

Disney’s Hollywood Studios:

For the First Time in Forever; A FROZEN Sing Along ~ This is by far the best show I have seen at Walt Disney World! Until now, I was a huge Festival of the Lion King fan, but that comes in second now to Frozen. Love it!

Olaf Meet and Greet

Chip and Dale Meet and Greet ~ We had seen them before, but we stumbled upon them and my daughter LOVES them, so we needed to see them.

Mickey Pretzels for a snack and then it was off to Epcot.

Epcot:

Spaceship Earth ~ I really did not want to ride this on this visit. It is such a time suck! But, Natalie absolutely loves this ride, so we went for it.

FROZEN Ever After ~ We booked a Fastpass for this, which is another tip for you. If you are attempting four parks in one day, book your Fastpasses for early afternoon at your second park.

Meet Anna and Elsa at Royal Sommerhaus

Lunch at Via Napoli and it was off to Animal Kingdom!

Animal Kingdom:

This was probably our quickest park. We only had a few things we wanted to do here. We posed for some photos, and then got an ice cream treat.

Finding Nemo the Musical ~ I booked a Fastpass for this while we were on our way to Animal Kingdom from Epcot. We grabbed an ice cream snack and found the Fastpass entrance. This was a welcome attraction in our afternoon. It was great to sit down, chill out, and take in an awesome show!

As we left Animal Kingdom, we wanted to see Pocahontas, but her line was NOT moving at all. So, even though we’ve seen Mickey and Minnie a ton of times, we decided to meet them in their safari costume at Adventurer’s Outpost.

Magic Kingdom:

We made it to Magic Kingdom around 6PM. So we grabbed dinner at Pinnochio’s Village Haus and saw Talking Mickey at Town Square. This was new to us, and he sang Happy Birthday to Natalie! It was great!

We know Magic Kingdom inside and out. So we grabbed a picture in front of the castle, and decided to end the evening with our favorites! We took a ride on Dumbo and Aladdin’s Carpets. By now, we were totally exhausted so it was back to Caribbean Beach!

Wow! It was an amazing day, and full of tons of Disney fun. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Looking back, I would probably utilize Extra Magic Hours a little better, but it worked out well even without using them.

Have you attempted all four Disney Parks in one day? I’d love to hear about it!

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Carrie is the author and founder of A Princess and Her Pirates. She likes to share her Disney travel tips, crafts, recipes, and ways that she finds JOY everyday in her life! She believes that everyday brings new joy, and that everyone needs to have a little happiness in their life! She is the wife to a sweet pastor, and mom to three kiddos-twin boys and a princess girl. Carrie is a travel agent with Destinations in Florida, where she enjoys making MAGICAL vacation memories for everyone! Contact her today at carrie@destinationsinflorida.com to start YOUR vacation planning!

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[…] Visiting 4 Disney parks in one day is a “bucket list” item for may Walt Disney World fans. We have done it ourselves when my daughter and I took our Mommy and Me trip last year. It was so fun, and looking back, we really accomplished quite a bit in that day! But what is the most effective way to visit 4 Disney parks in one day? Let me share some tips with you! […]

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Hi, I’m Carrie!

Orange tea sipper by day, wine drinker by night, I am a work at home mom to three gorgeous children ages 14, 14, and 7 and wife to my high school sweetheart. Our life is an adventure with our princess and her pirates. When I am not planning magical itineraries to the Happiest Place on Earth, I am crafting, baking, or spreading pixie dust. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a pixie dusted day! Read More…